Public Sector Employment in Scotland: statistics for fourth quarter 2017

Employment snapshot statistics based on administrative records and surveys of individual public sector bodies as at December 2017.


1. Total Employment and Public and Private Sector Employment in Scotland; Headcount (see Table 1)

Figure 1 provides a summary of total employment in Scotland and the breakdown of public and private sector employment. The public sector is defined according to the UK National Accounts Classifications Guide [1] .

Figure 1: Public and Private Sector Employment, Scotland, Q4 2017

Figure 1: Public and Private Sector Employment, Scotland, Q4 2017

Source: Public Sector Employment in Scotland, Quarter 4 2017

Chart 1: Public Sector Employment in Scotland, Headcount, Q1 1999 – Q4 2017, non-seasonally adjusted

Chart 1: Public Sector Employment in Scotland, Headcount, Q1 1999 – Q4 2017, non-seasonally adjusted

Source: Public Sector Employment in Scotland, Quarter 4 2017

Chart 1 shows that the number of people employed in the public sector has remained relatively constant since Q1 2014. Excluding the effects of major reclassifications [2] , the number of people employed in the public sector gradually increased to a peak in Q2 2006, decreased to Q3 2013 and has remained relatively constant since then.

Chart 2 shows the annual change in employment for the public and private sectors.

Chart 2: Annual Change in Employment by Main Sector, Headcount

Chart 2: Annual Change in Employment by Main Sector, Headcount

Source: Public Sector Employment in Scotland, Quarter 4 2017

Impact of Excluding Major Reclassifications from Public Sector

If the major reclassifications [2] were to be excluded from the public sector series, there would be estimated to be 532,000 people employed in the public sector in Q4 2017. This would account for 20.3% of the total employment in Scotland (this compares to 21.4% if major reclassifications are included).

Public Sector employment excluding the effects of the major reclassifications, would have increased by 2,090 (+0.4%) over the year to Q4 2017.

The majority of major reclassifications are included in the reserved public sector in Scotland; their impact in this sector is covered in section 4 of the publication.

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